The Whitman-Hanson School District in Massachusetts is reversing course and moving ahead with plans to cut 25 jobs to close a $1.4 million budget gap. 

Superintendent Jeff Szymaniak announced the budget deficit at a school committee meeting last Thursday. At the meeting, the committee voted to push the decision to cut the jobs back 30 school days to search for other alternatives. The vote to delay the potential cuts was deemed illegal, and now the district is moving forward. 

According to the school committee, notifications will go out on Monday November 10, informing the 25 teachers, paraprofessionals and administrators who will be laid off. It's unclear when they will lose their jobs. Another five positions will not be filled with planned retirements. 

Union vote of no confidence

In an emergency meeting Wednesday night, the teacher's union passed a vote of no confidence against the superintendent. 

"Our educators have been forced to operate under conditions that undermine morale, disrupt planning, and threaten the future of high-quality public education at Whitman-Hanson," said Kevin Kavka, president of the Whitman-Hanson Education Association.

The school committee told WBZ-TV that the district overspent and no money is missing.

Last week, Szymaniak explained that the school district's former business manager resigned and they struggled in a search to find a replacement. He said an outside firm looked at the budget and recommended an immediate $800,000 cut to the budget. 

The towns of Whitman and Hanson are about 20 miles south of Boston. During the 2024-25 school year, the district had 3,457 students enrolled in seven schools.